life | some happy things (finally)

it's been a hard couple of weeks, and i've really struggled to find the silver lining. sure, there have been great moments, but they've been short-lived and not more memorable than the really, really bad ones. this last week though? things are starting to look up.

new starts: i joined a gym. it's a new gym, a 24 hour gym, and a gym that's near my house. i joined because i realised (a long time ago, then immediately put it to the back of my mind) that if i continue eating and drinking and socialising the way i am, then something needs to be done to take care of my body or else i will turn out a flabby old woman, eaten to death by her cats. i also heard a rumour that exercising is quite good for not only your physical well-being, but also your mental and emotional. i could do with some help on those fronts too, so i thought "why not", and it's only twenty quid a month with no contract, so. if i hate it, i won't go. i've gone twice; i hated it both times.

cold brew: turns out that my favourite summer-drink-that-noone-makes-without-instruction, the "iced americano" is now the same thing as the uber fashionable "cold brew," but a lot cheaper. yay hipsters!

the crystal maze: i'd never seen the show, though when offered the chance to have a go at the crystal maze, i certainly was in no position to say no. i'd read a few reviews from other bloggers, and it sounded like a lot of fun, and a bit similar to those locked-room games i like to partake in, so... on thursday, rebekah, annalies, lp and i headed into angel to have a play! the production was amazing, and just like the tv show, for big fans of that 90s series. i played two separate challenges myself, and won one crystal too! in the dome at the end, we were the clear winners, but.. were disqualified, for cheating! none of us owned up to it, so we'll never know what happened, but... we're winners at heart.

first world problems: in the pub afterwards i found this beer called "first world problems" by a belgian brewery, and the marketing had me in stitches. on one side of the can it reads "i just finished a hot yoga class..." and the other side reads "...and i forgot a change of clothes!" and the barman said each can had a different stupid anecdote on it, but i think that one just tickled me,

the rum shack: the gals and i headed into soho on thursday night for the press/pre-launch of sugar dunplin's london summer popup rum shacks that will be scattered across the city. there were steel drums and tiki torches and a real rum bar, and that's all before we discovered the caribbean bbq out the back! we ate curried goat, and swordfish and coconut, and rice and beans, and drank loads of rum punch, and it was just a fab night! really excited for their summer activation, as i'm a big fan of sugar dumplin, so, more news when i have it!

bangarang! honestly, meeting these girls from the internet has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. on friday, we all piled into emma's east london flat, celebrating the first time that we all managed to be in the same room at the same time. well, charlie wasn't there because she's still travelling, but she face-timed us from new zealand, so it was just like she was there with us. we ate pizza and drank prosecco and talked politics and had a fricken wonderful night. until i got home, that is, when my world fell apart in yet another flat-related horror story. these girls were there to save the night though, with special thanks to leanne for letting me cry on her when i was locked out of my flat and needed somewhere to stay. what an absolute legend!

the root decision: a spur of the moment decision on saturday saw carmen and i dye my roots back to blonde, and my whole head back to candy pink. will it be a decision i regret? time will tell, but my regrowth was just so incredibly out of hand. it had been five months since my last bleaching, so it was super gross and needed doing. it was either that, or go back brown all over. i don't think i'm ready for that... yet.

sunday roast: it was carmen's (my new flatmate)(!) birthday on friday, but she didn't get back to the flat until saturday, so on sunday we headed out for a delicious sunday roast in celebration. a couple of friends joined in and we ended up at the gipsy moth in greenwich, right by the cutty sark, on the blazing sun on sunday afternoon, laughing, eating and drinking the day away. bonus points for making the journey home in just over half an hour, and special props to the vintage markets that were open for us to wander through on the way home.